The state attorney handling the case docket of Serradura Luigi, the Italian accused of murdering his 74-year-old partner, Bellunatu Egle, at their Amasaman residence near Accra, has appeared at an Accra central magistrate court to explain the delay in the trial.

The state attorney, Ashong Okai, was subpoenaed to appear in court by Dora Gloria Araba Eshun, after almost a year since the accused person was put in a magistrate court for committal.

According to him, he was handed the docket last year and had gone through it and given his advice but it had to be vetted by his superiors.

He said he gave it out to a senior colleague to vet in accordance with the standard practice and awaited a response, adding that he was just informed the advice was ready when the prosecutor in the case, ASP Cletus Abadamloora, told him he was to appear before her lordship.

The attorney indicated that the advice was ready, to which the trial magistrate ordered that a supplementary copy should be made available to the court by tomorrow.

The case has meanwhile, been adjourned to April 8 2015.

Mrs. Eshun had ordered that the state attorney should come and explain why it had taken almost a year and the advice from the Attorney-General’s Department was yet to be given.

Suspect Luigi, 62, who has been charged with murder, has denied any wrongdoing.

ASP Abadamloora, who presented the facts, said the suspect and the deceased (Egle) were both pensioners and Italians resident in Ghana.

He said the deceased, who fell in love with the suspect, sold her house in Italy to put up a three-bedroom house at Kuntunse, near Accra, which they moved in together in 2009.

Furthermore, he stated that Bellunatu bought a pick-up vehicle which the couple used for their activities.

He said on October 29, 2013, Dzakpasu, a hired cleaner, went to the house with intent to clean there but when he got there, the door was locked so he knocked several times but there was no response.

He then tried the mobile phone contact of the deceased but she did not pick the call so after some time, he found the key to the main door, opened it and found the victim lying at the entrance in a pool of blood.

The prosecutor averred that the cleaner consequently called the suspect and they went to lodge a complaint with the police at Amasaman.

He said Luigi alleged that robbers had attacked his house and taken an Acer laptop; an amount of Ghc4,000; €1,000 and two mobile phones.

In addition, he stated that the victim was lying in a supine position, meaning the body was carefully placed at the entrance of the main door.

The prosecutor explained that the weapon used in killing Bellunatu could not be traced.